Comment permalink

When Vance Packard published The Status Seekers in 1959, abortion was still illegal in the United States. While there were other things about present-day life in America that did not exist in Mr. Packard's era, one of the many points in his book that is still relevant today is the topic of teenage pregnancy. After extensive research, Mr. Packard concluded that youngsters who do not envision bright, hopeful futures for themselves are the most likely to find themselves dealing with teenage pregnancies. A 2004 study concluded an additional factor: children and teens who grow up in dysfunctional families are also the most likely to become pregnant or impregnate someone while they are still in their teens.

Rather than learning anything from these studies, and doing something constructive about the problems leading to teen pregnancy, sensibility has been placed on the back burner. One example is portraying teen parenthood as positive. I have even found websites that encourage teen parenthood.

The second example can be illustrated by a group called "The Feminist Majority." While they may not be unique with their outrageous viewpoint, they are pushing for the "Plan B One Step" abortion pill to be available to every girl "of childbearing age." Their petition states these pills should not be behind-the-counter, so any girl can purchase them without proof of age, and no questions asked.

As the age of the onset of puberty decreases and decreases due to numerous factors, it is currently considered to be around nine years of age for girls in the United States. If you have a nine-year-old daughter, would you want her to become pregnant and use an abortion pill? Wouldn't it seem to be more sensible to start reducing the risk factors of teen pregnancy so fewer kids are in this position in the first place?!

In my opinion, neither of these examples are acceptable-- and I am certainly not unique in seeing it this way. Giving kids the futures they deserve does not ride on higher education and other benefits for teen parents, nor making abortion pills accessible to sexually-active children. Instead, it rides on the fact that kids who see nearly limitless futures for themselves, and have solid family environments during their formative years, are less likely to engage in this type of behavior in the first place.